Bad Feminist
by Roxane Gay
An ilovemys(h)elf Review
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Edition: Paperback
# of Pages: 320
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Recommend?: Yes
There is no doubt in the power nor the timeliness of Bad Feminist; her essays span from a number of years and a multitude of experiences. Throughout the novel, we not only become intrigued with her sincerity, but by her witticism, keen eye for observation, and critical analyses of past and current prevailing social phenomenons and norms (this spans from her take on competitive scrabble to her fault-findings in Tyler Perry movies). Every word is written with an almost delicate carelessness as if to reassure the reader at each turn of the page that they aren't necessarily reading a book (a nonfiction book centered on social commentary at that), but engaging in a conversation. The rhythm, style, and manner in which Gay handles Bad Feminist is in my earnest opinion, impeccable, and at the same time highly flawed. This; however, does not take away any ‘feminist’ credibility away from the novel, but rather adds to it. After all, she is a bad feminist.
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| Bad Feminist's, Roxane Gay |
★★★★
“I believe feminism is grounded in supporting the choices of women even if we wouldn’t make certain choices for ourselves.”
I understand where Gay comes from on many topics. I understand her resentment for the lack of race diversity in TV shows such as Girls that claim to be “new, socially risky, and different”. I agree that a lot of our favorite childhood stories are completely void of racial diversity, fall into the bell curve of social norms, and do not provide an accurate depiction of our flawed world. Her stance on movies vary in range. She does not appreciate movie makers such as Tyler Perry, whose movies tend to be racially diverse, but whose humor is based on faulty and old stereotypical views on blacks, whites, women, men, and the American middle class. I agree with her notion that there a lot of bad feminists in our midst, some who are obviously worse than others. I agree that there is no such thing as the perfect feminist and that feminism, just like any other social movement in recent and distant history, is flawed.
I understand where Gay is coming from in a great portion of the book.
That actually happened to be a problem for me, and ultimately is the reason why I did not give this book 5 stars. There was nothing to combat. The book is too much in line with the status quo. No matter how 'good' the status quo may be, I have a problem with writers always lining up with the thoughts of the majority. I’m not anxious to read a book I’m bound to wholeheartedly agree with or disagree with because that tends to leave no leeway for the reader’s thoughts to get in. Like I said, this book is conversational, but I felt like I was having a conversation with the everyday educated feminist. I like books that give me a middle-ground. Give me controversy!
Besides that, this book still manages to hit very high points.
Gay has strong stances on feminism but then uses the word 'silly' in relation to 'girly'. I cringed at what I hope was an innocent mistake; but, it just goes to emphasize her self-proclaimed label as a 'bad feminist'. The book is genius when it comes to her blatant honesty. She's not afraid to admit her flaws and faults as a feminist, and also as an overall social justice warrior type human being. She is honest with her past which is filled with an all familiar story of being the daughter of immigrants; she tells us about her past with her weight, her past with sex, with relationships, boys, school, and whatnot. She inundates the novel with truth.
Gay manages to be honest.
And that is one of the most important traits a memoir should acquire.
I wish however, that Gay invested more of her time actually talking about feminism. For a book that is supposed to be grounded in the fact that Gay is a feminist, she does very little talking about it. I appreciate her talks on scrabble, race, and sexuality, but I just wish that there was a little more ‘feminist discussions’ throughout the novel. I wish she connected more things to the movement of feminism. Gay offers a new stance to the feminist movement; she is a colored second generation immigrant who isn't afraid to concede to the fact that the feminist movement has its faults. Gay offers a fresh voice to feminism, but I wish I had heard more if that voice.
Overall, the novel was a great read. Gay has a precise, and often funny perspective on society and the movements that has been broken down and built up by and because of it.
